The Top 10 Electronic Albums of 2023

The Electronic albums list covers music that is less organic than what is on other lists, without being pop music. Not much in the way of button-pushing dance music here either, but a mix of synth wave, and experimental hip-hop, along with new wave projects that use drum machines more than a kit. These are not the coolest electronic albums, but the best, fuck what other blogs say,.   After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the year. 2023. The very fact these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list; and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 Electronic albums of 2023.

10- X- Marks the Pedwalk- Superstition" 

The album opens with this long-running project sounding as fresh as ever. The vocals are distinct and have purpose, at times reminding me more of Gary Numan, than I recall thinking back when I used to listen to them more in the 90s. They continue to prove themselves relevant with this album. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/x-marks-pedwalk-superstition.html

 

9- Patriarchy - "Forcefully Rearranged "

Contrary to poor journalism accounts of this project there is nothing metal about it, I would not even call it industrial. It's sex-drenched dark wave that leans more onto the EBM side of things. Front Woman Actually Huizenga coos her way through sex-doll, which is more self-objectifying and not as subversive as they credit themselves with being. Though see that she came to fame as a scene kid in Los Angeles would you expect her to think anything else of herself even if it is all a marketing ploy. But with that said she knows her way around a hook, and they are onto something sonically cool here. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/patriarchy-forcefully-rearranged.html

8 -Body of light - "Bitter Reflection"

The duo's sound has been further tweaked. While they still straddle the balance of capturing a sound versus writing songs, they are using the refinement of sound to further their songwriting. The vocals feel more in line with who they are. They crooned without emulating say Depeche Mode, whose earlier work still stands as their biggest influence.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/06/body-of-light-bitter-reflection.html

7-JPEGMAFIA X Danny Brown - ""Scaring the Hoes"

Finally some hip- hop willing to take risks and not just come rolling off the assembly line of an entertainment conglomerate. Detroit-bred Brown, just did a stint in rehab, so this was more than likely recorded before that vacation was in play. He brags a lot about various drugs, so maybe he is realer than most. Though at South x Southwest, he apologized for writing so many songs about drugs. Hopefully, sobriety won't ruin his weirdness. This album shows you do not need an assembly line of producers and songwriters if you have any talent. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/jpegmafiaxdanny-brown-scaring-hoes.html

6-M83- "Fantasy" The French electro-pop project finds itself stripped down to primary songwriter Anthony Gonzalez who worked on a large part of this album with live keyboardist Joe Berry. He also brought many of the live musicians he works with to aid in the sessions, which resulted in an album that washes by you like one wave of sound. https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/m83-fantasy.html

5-Death Index - "Civilized by a Lie"

I'm curious to know how this went under my radar. I am a big Merchandise fan, and since I love Carson Cox's voice, the 2016 album by this project was one of my favorites of that year. This time around the electronic nature of this project overtakes a more organic post-punk feel to the self-titled album. Even with the abrasive streak that runs through the bulk of this album the songs manage to win out.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/death-index-civilized-by-lie.html

 4-Tech N9ne - "Bliss"

The 51-year-old rapper is one of the rare artists in the game who cares about writing songs without taking it too far and getting lost in the industry's pop machine. He meets your expectations if you consider him to be one of the last great rappers still making music.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/tech-n9ne-bliss.html

3-Gunship - "Unicorn"

The 80's worshiping synth wave band continues to grow as songwriters on their third album. Once again there are plenty of guests helping out. Not all of these contributions are highlighted, though rather than writing to play to the strengths of the guest spots the electro trio is just focused on writing hooky songs which works just as well. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/gunship-unicorn.html

2-Stranger Ranger -"Pure Music"

One of the more compelling forms pop music has taken on this year. I am a little late to the party as this is the band's fourth album, but glad I am finding it now.  Some kids might call this "vapor wave" but it does not have the neon bi-lighting to make this a fashion choice. Normally the breathy vocals that typically dominate this album might start to wear thin, but everything else sits in the right place to compensate for it.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/07/strange-ranger-pure-music.html

1-Depeche Mode -"Memento Mori"

7 years have passed since the release of  "Spirit".  Album number 15 finds the duo of Gahan and Wilder more inspired than they have been since "Ultra". Andy Fletcher's death gave the writing process more depth and meaning. Adversity is what it takes for the creative fires to burn the brightest since "Ultra' marked the departure of Alan Wilder and Gahan hitting a bottom with his substance issues. Stunning production and an immaculate mix allow interesting sounds to swirl in it. This album makes for a  logical new chapter. If this is the album they choose to end things with I would not blame them as this would be a high note to end it on. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/depeche-mode-memento-mori.html

Gunship : "Unicorn"

The 80's worshiping synth wave band continues to grow as songwriters on their third album. Once again there are plenty of guests helping out. Not all of these contributions are highlighted, though rather than writing to play to the strengths of the guest spots the electro trio is just focused on writing hooky songs which works just as well. The opening track "Monster in Paradise" took multiple listens in order to hear what Dave Lombardo was doing on it. Wargasm's Milkie Way is easier to hear as her vocals take a more prominent role. Tim Cappello of Lost Boys fame gets his solo, but Dave's drumming is harder to make out amid the programmed drums and might be limited to accents here and there. 

Lights joining them for "Empress of the Damned" pretty much conforms to the standards of today's pop music while draping it in more 80's sounds. "Tech Noir 2" which features John Carpenter, is pretty typical of what these guys do. The vocal lines are more refined than the project's previous albums. Gavin Rossdale and Carpenter Brut make an appearance on "DooM Dance". Rossdale's vocals take the refrain of the chorus. It works off a pretty steamy groove that might have more of an overt thump to it than what they have done on previous albums. The distinctly androgynous croons of Jake Duzsik from HEALTH coast gracefully over the verse to "Blood For the Blood God".  

"Weaponized Love" also finds the vocals dialed into sharper hooks. "Ghost" which finds them collaborating with Powerglove, does not find the video game-inspired sounds Powerglove normally uses in play but things go in a little darker direction . "Darkness For Dreams" finds them flirting with dark wave, though leaning more heavily in the sound they cultivated on the first two albums. Britta Philips who was the voice for the  Jem & the Holograms lends her pipes to the aptly named "    Holographic Heart". It's relevant enough to appeal to the TikTok pop kids, while still paying homage to the era that inspires these guys. 

"Nuclear Date Night" leans into a more dance floor-heavy groove. The vocals take on a more breathy tension. "Run Like Hell" is the first song that does not really feel as inspired as the others. While the vocals are produced just as effectively as those found on the rest of the album, there is a slightly dialed-in feeling to it. "Lost Shadow" also feels like the air is seeping from the ties of inspiration, the guitar line being the best thing about the song. Not to say everything else is flawed, it just does not have the neon fire that sparked earlier in the album. They take their collection of all the right sounds and dig from it to paste together than last song which is more of a ballad.  Does it hold up to the kind of ballads Peter Gabriel made that inspired this 80s bandwagon, no, but it works well enough for what they are doing. I will give this one a 9.5, as see how it grows on me, I think they have perfected what they do in a manner that now has it ready for a larger audience